Parole denied to 1 of 3 Chowchilla 'busnappers'

SAN FRANCISCO -- One of three men convicted in the infamous kidnapping of a school bus full of California Central Valley school students has been denied parole.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Monday that Fred Woods can apply for parole again in three years. This was the 13th denial for the 61-year-old Woods.

Woods and the brothers Richard and James Schoenfeld were convicted of kidnapping 26 students and their bus driver and burying them alive in a van inside a Livermore rock quarry in the hopes of collecting a $5 million ransom.

Their plot unraveled when they took a nap, and students and driver were able to escape unhurt.

All three men received life sentences after pleading guilty to kidnapping charges. Richard Schoenfeld was released on parole in June.